CONCEPT OF HACCP

BY

Dr Narendra Nayak

Department of LPT

College of Veterinary Science and A.H., Mhow,

Indore M.P.

Mob. No. 9669419819

Introduction of HACCP

The HACCP concept was advanced in 1971 by

H.E. Bauman and other scientist at the Pillsbury

company in collaboration with national

aeronautics and space administration (NASA)

and the U.S. Army research laboratories. It is

now widely embraced by the food industries and

by the government regularity agencies around the

world as a most cost effective means of

minimizing the occurrence of food born biological,

chemical and physical hazards.

The National Advisory Committee on

Microbiological Criteria for Foods (Committee)

reconvened a Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Point (HACCP) Working Group in 1995.

The primary goal was to review the Committee's

November 1992 HACCP document, comparing it

to current HACCP guidance prepared by the

Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. Based upon

its review, the Committee made the HACCP

principles more concise; revised and added

definitions; included sections on prerequisite

programs, education and training, and

implementation and maintenance of the

HACCP plan; revised and provided a more

detailed explanation of the application of

HACCP principles; and provided an

additional decision tree for identifying critical

control points (CCPs).

Definitions:-

Control Measure: Any action or activity that

can be used to prevent, eliminate or reduce a

significant hazard.

Control Point: Any step at which biological,

chemical, or physical factors can be

controlled.

Corrective Action: Procedures followed

when a deviation occurs.

Corrective Action: Procedures followed when

a deviation occurs.

Criterion: A requirement on which a

judgement or decision can be based.

Critical Control Point: A step at which control

can be applied and is essential to prevent or

eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to

an acceptable level

. Critical Limit: A maximum and/or minimum

value to which a biological, chemical or

physical parameter must be controlled at a

CCP to prevent, eliminate or reduce to an

acceptable level the occurrence of a food

safety hazard.

Deviation: Failure to meet a critical limit.

HACCP: A systematic approach to the

identification, evaluation, and control of food

safety hazards.

HACCP Plan: The written document which is

based upon the principles of HACCP and

which delineates the procedures to be

followed.

HACCP System: The result of the

implementation of the HACCP Plan:

. HACCP Team: The group of people who are

responsible for developing, implementing and

maintaining the HACCP system.

Hazard: A biological, chemical, or physical agent

that is reasonably likely to cause illness or injury in

the absence of its control.

Hazard Analysis The process of collecting and

evaluating information on hazards associated with

the food under consideration to decide which are

significant and must be addressed in the HACCP

plan.

Monitor: To conduct a planned sequence of

observations or measurements to assess

whether a CCP is under control and to produce

an accurate record for future use in verification.

Prerequisite Programs: Procedures, including

Good Manufacturing Practices, that address

operational conditions providing the foundation

for the HACCP system.

Severity: The seriousness of the effect(s) of a

hazard.

Step: A point, procedure, operation or stage in the

food system from primary production to final

consumption.

Validation: That element of verification focused on

collecting and evaluating scientific and technical

information to determine if the HACCP plan, when

properly implemented, will effectively control the

hazards.

Verification: Those activities, other than monitoring,

that determine the validity of the HACCP plan and

that the system is operating according to the plan.

Principle 1. Conduct a hazard analysis

Hazards are categorized into three general

areas: biological, chemical, and physical. For

the most part, biological, which includes

pathogens, is the hazard that most plans are

used to prevent.

The challenge that faces the HACCP Team is to

determine what are truly significant versus

insignificant hazards. The Team must weigh

both risk and severity when analyzing hazards.

Principle 2. Identify the CCPs in the process.

A Critical Control Point is defined as a point,

step or procedure at which control can be

applied and a food safety hazard can be

prevented, eliminated, or reduced to

acceptable levels. This differs from a Control

Point, which is a less specific and important

step in the process.

The selection of CCPs is aided by the use of

a CCP Decision Tree.

This Decision Tree is designed to allow the

Team to ask specific and logical questions to

help determine what is truly a Critical Control

Point versus a Control Point or something

that could be handled under the GMPs

(Good Manufacturing Practices) or SOPs

(Standard Operating Practices). Although this

Decision Tree is not perfect, it certainly helps

to focus the attention of the team on what

should be used in a HACCP Plan to control

hazards.

Principle 3. Establish critical limits

Critical Limits are important tools that help the

HACCP Plan function properly. Critical Limits serve

as the boundaries for each CCP. Examples of

Critical Limits are preventative measures such as

temperature, pH, salt concentration, time, moisture

level, etc.

Critical Limits are different from factors that may

affect quality. The flavor characteristics of a

cooked meat product may be best achieved at a

certain endpoint temperature, but the safety of the

product may be achieved at another temperature

Principle 4. Establish CCPmonitoring requirements.

CCP monitoring is a planned sequence of

observations or measurements to assess

whether a CCP is under control and to produce

an accurate record for future use in verification.

Monitoring is focused on keeping the process

under control and preventing deviations (those

occurrences outside the Critical Limits) from

happening. If deviations do occur, monitoring will

provide the information as to when problems

occurred so that corrective action can be taken.

Principle 5. Establish corrective action

It must be assumed that deviations will occur,

even in the best HACCP Plans. There are three

areas that corrective action plans address: (a)

to determine the disposition of non-compliance

product, (b) to fix or correct the cause of

noncompliance to assure that the CCP is under

control, and (c) to maintain records of the

corrective actions that have been taken where

there has been a deviation from Critical Limits.

All HACCP Principles are important, but this

Principle answers the question of “what if”

before it happens. It is not in the best interest

of the company to leave the decision making

process to those in the middle of the crisis.

Plans must be in place to address what to do

with the product under as many scenarios for

violations of Critical Limits as possible.

Principle 6. Establish effectiverecordkeeping procedures

The approved HACCP Plan and associated

records must be on file at the establishment.

For the most part, this may be the only part of

the HACCP Plan that will be audited or

reviewed by customers or regulators. Adequate

records of what is and was measured and what

was done with products that were produced

outside of Critical Limits are items that people

look to see if the HACCP Plan is working.

Principle 7. Establish procedures for verification.

Verification is a process to look at the

HACCP Plan as it is being carried out and at

the long-term trends and implications. The

HACCP Team must strive to continue to

update and improve the HACCP Plan

knowing that the Plan is a dynamic

instrument that will grow and change as

products and processes evolve and as new

forms of hazards enter the food chain.

This Principle deals with reviews of the Plan,

both in how it is written and how it is being

followed. Outside experts play an important

role in giving input to the Team as to ways to

improve the Plan. Verification is an on-going

process that helps in ensure that the HACCP

Plan is doing what it is supposed to do:

prevent hazards from becoming a part of the

food supply.

THANK YOU